Libertarian Perspectives on War and Peace

At The Libertarian Standard, Anthony Gregory writes an incredible essay commemorating (or in shame of, alternatively) the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War. The piece covers libertarian perspectives on war that span decades of great writing by great libertarians.

The relationship between war and libertarianism has interested me since 9/11. In the aftermath of those terrorist attacks, I witnessed in grim fascination many libertarians make excuses for government in the realm of national security. The proper libertarian position on war has become a matter of controversy, although I believe it shouldn’t be. “War is the health of the state,” as Randolph Bourne said, as well as being “mass murder,” in the words of Murray Rothbard.

It behooves us as Christian libertarians to understand war precisely because it is an issue of life and death, hence why you see so much material on this site dedicated to peace. Many thanks to Anthony for giving us such a great resource. Read the rest of Anthony’s essay here.

Norman is the founder and editor of LibertarianChristians.com. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from the Austin Graduate School of Theology.